johnson



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

H. JOHNSON, H. A. JOHNSON &'J. T. GADE. MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING SIGNALS, 8w.

Patented Jan. 12, 1886.

N. PETERS. Pholo-Lilhagrzlphur. Washington. D. C.

(No Model.) .3 Sheets-Sheet 2.-

H. JOHNSON, H. A. JOHNSON & J. T. OADE. MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING SIGNALS, m.

No. 834,232. Patented Jan. -12, 1886.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3. H. JOHNSON,- H. A. JOHNSON 81; J. T. OADE.

. (No Model.)

MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING SIGNALS, 85,0.

PatentedJan. 12,,1886.

Wv'hwases.

N-ITED STATES PATENT Fries.

HENRY JOHNSON, HENRY ARTHUR JOHNSON, AND JOHN THOMAS OADE, OF FLIXTON, COUNTY OF LANCASTER, ENGLAND.

MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING SIGNALS, 81.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,232, dated January 12. 1886.

Application filed September 19, 1885. Serial No. 177,630.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY JOHNSON, HENRY ARTHUR JOHNSON, and JOHN THOMAS OADE, subjects of the Crown of Great Britain and Ireland, and residents of Flixton, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Controlling Signals Used on Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates that class of signaloperating apparatus known as slot or slotting apparatus, which requires to be worked by two or more men to bring the signal to the all clear or safety position.

I 5 In such apparatus as ordinarily heretofore employed the arm or blade of the signal is weighted off, or so that when released it falls to the off or all clear position, indicating safety, and the consequence is that in case of the rupture or disconnect-ion of the rods on the signal-post the arm or blade falls to the all clear position, which is a source of great danger.

The object of this invention is to obviate the above great disadvantage, and to obtain an apparatus by which a signal may be worked by two or more persons from different points or distances, and of which the arm or blade would go to the danger position in case of 0 the breakage of its connections and the invention consists in certain means, hereinafter described and claimed, whereby this object is attained.

Figure l in the drawings is a front elevation 5 of a signal apparatus to be worked by two Fig. 2 ispersons, illustrating our invention.

a side elevation of the same. Figs. 3, 4, and

5 are front elevations of portions of the same,

illustrating different positions of the signal- 0 operating devices. Fig. 6 is a back view of the same. Fig. 7 is plan corresponding with Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a side View of an apparatus to be worked by three persons. Fig. 9 is a plan correspond-ing with Fig. 8. Figs. 10 and 5 11 are respectively a front view and a side view illustrating a slight modification of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A and B in Figs. 1 and 2 are two balancelevers of well-known form, working on a fixed fulcrum-pin, p, and having their motion limited between stops q q in a wellknown manner. These balance-levers are connected each by one of two rods, 0 D, with one of two slid- 5 ing plates or slides, A B, which are free to slide back and forth parallel with each other, as indicated by an arrow in. Fig. 1, within guides in a fixed guide-box, F, common to both. The ends of these slides remote from their connecting rods 0 D have heads, in which are provided coves a b, as shown in Fig. 2, and which have laterally-projecting shoulders or b, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

G, Fig. 2, is a single signal-operating rod controlled by two balance-levers, A and B, for working a signal-arm, the upper end of the said rod being connected with the arm or blade of the signal, and the lower end carrying a foot-piece, which is represented as constructed with projections h h, situated under the shoulders a b of the coved heads of the slides A B, and as also furnished with two anti-friction rollers, K K, which may enter the coves a b, the distance between the outer 7 5 parts of the peripheries of the said rollers and the distance between the said coves being such that when the two slides A B are keptin corresponding positions side by side, with their coves opposite each other, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the rollers K K cannot pass between the portions of the heads of the said slides below the coves, but that when either slide is i moved upward independently of the other it will, by a wedge-like action of the coved por- 8 5 tion of its head on the contiguous roller, push aside the foot-piece H of the operating-rod G and pass it. The signal-arm being weighted to danger, and the upper end of the rod G being so connected with it that the upward c movement of the latter is required to bring it to the off or all clear position, as hereinahove described, the construction and combination of the two slides A B, connected with the two balance-1evers,and the engaging- 5 piece of the operating-rod Gr, connected with the signal-arm, require both of the levers to be operated to move the said rod upward in a manner to bring the signal to the off or all clear position. This we will now explain by reference to Figs. 2, 3, 4., and 5. Suppose we operate thelever B only as shown in Fig. 3, the head of its slide B will, by its action on the roller K, force aside the engaging-piece H of the rod G, forcing the roller K into the cove a of the slide A. If we then operate the lever A, the head of the slide A cannot in its upward motion push aside the foot H of the rod G by reason of such-motion being prevented by the slide A, and hence the said slide B will take up the adjacent roller K in its cove a ,and push up the rod G, as shown in Fig. 5, and so produce thelifting of the rod G and the movement of the signalarm off or to the all clear position. If we then return either slide A or Bas, for instance, that Bby moving its lever, the roller on the opposite side of the engagingpiece H will no longer be retained in the cove a of thejother slide; but the rod G will be pulled down by the positive action of the shoulders I) of the said slide B on the projections h of the foot-piece H,and the movement of the signalarm to the danger position will thus be insured. It will thus be understood that both levers must be operated to throw the signal "off or to the all clear position; but either will be operative to bring the signal to "danger/ and it may also be understood that on the breaking of any of the connections the signal will always assume the "danger position, the sliding plates offering no material resistance to the movement of the signal-arm to danger by its weight.

A rod like that, N, represented in Figs. 1 and 2 may be connected with either of the sliding plates to work any other signal than the oneto be worked,as hereinabove described, by the rod G.

In the signal represented in Figs. 8 and 9, to be worked by three persons, there are three sliding plates, A, B, and 13*, to be worked by as many balance-levers. The said three plates are just like those represented in Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, but are arranged to coincide with the three sides of an equilateral triangle, as shown in the plan, Fig. 9, and the rollers K K K and projections h h h of the rod G are arranged to correspond. It will be seen that the upward movement of one plate only would force two of the rollers into the coves of the other two plates, and that the upward move ment of any two of the plates would force the third roller into the cove of the third plate, so that in neither case could the rod G be lifted to bring the signal to the all clear position until all three plates had been raised by'the operation of the several levers; but the return of either plate will cause the pulling down of the rod G and bring the signal to danger, or on the breakage of any of the connections will assume the danger position. It will be understood that three or more of these sliding plates, with a corresponding number of rollers, K K, on the foot-piece H of the rod G may be used in combination with a signal which is required to be controlled by more than two persons.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 10 and 11 only differs from that shown in Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, in that the engagingpiece H, instead of being furnished With two projecting rollers,to

be operated upon by the coves a b of the slides,

is furnished with bevels in the pieces 6 e, otherwise occupied by the rollers, and the sliding plates, instead of having coves a b, have bevels f f,to correspond with the bevels e c of the foot-piece H. The bevel f of either slide, when that slide only is to be raised, operates like either of the coves a 2), before described, as a wedge to force aside the foot-piece of the rod G without lifting it, and it also serves to lift the said rod and operate the signal when its slide is raised after the raising of the other slide.

It will be understood that the bevels e e and ff are the equivalents of the rollersKK and coves a b.

It will be observed that each of the slides A B, with its coved or beveled and shouldered head, constitutes a separate engaging device for its respective lever A or B, and that the foot-piece H of the signal-operating rod G, with its rollers or bevels and projections, constitutes an engaging device which combines with the two slides to make the rod G common to both of the balance-levers.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. The combination, with two or more signal-operating levers and a number of slides corresponding with said levers, one connected with said lever and each having ashouldered head comprising a wedge, of a signal-operating rod common to all of the said levers, having an engaging-piece furnished with projections to be operated upon by the said shouldered heads for moving the signal to danger by either lever singly, and furnished with rollers or equivalents to be acted upon by the wedges of the slides for the purpose of effecting the movement of the signal off or to all clear by the whole number of slides, but preventing such movement by less than the whole number, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of the balance-operating levers A B, the slides A 13, having shouldered wedge-like heads, and the signal-operating rod having projections h h and rollers K K or equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

HENRY JOHNSON. HENRY ARTHUR JOHNSON. JOHN THOMAS OADE. \Vitn esses:

CHAS. R. ALLEN, Solicitor and Notary Public, flfcmclzcsier.

J osnrrr Howiin'rrr,

His Clerk.

lie I l n 

